Chapter 73
"So," Song Qingyuan changed his pen and wrote two more words under the word "profit" - "people's hearts." "We can't block it, but we need to guide it. He wants to use 'power' to suppress us, so we use 'profit' to buy 'people's hearts' and dismantle his offensive from the root."
"How to bribe?" Shen Yanzhi's thoughts were completely drawn into her.
A sly smile appeared on Song Qingyuan's lips, like a little fox that had stolen a chicken. "Your Highness, doesn't the Second Prince like to play with fire? Then let's add some more wood to make the fire burn even brighter."
She leaned close to Shen Yanzhi's ear, lowered her voice, and told him her plan in this way.
Shen Yanzhi's eyes lit up as he listened. In the end, the gloom on his face vanished, replaced by a complex expression of shock, admiration, and a mixture of laughter and tears. He stared at Song Qingyuan for a long moment before finally uttering, "What's wrong with your brain...? This is such a shady trick... no, it's a brilliant one, you're lucky you could come up with it."
Song Qingyuan raised his eyebrows proudly: "You have to use the same tactics as the person you are dealing with. This is called giving someone a taste of their own medicine."
Shen Yanzhi couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the oppressive atmosphere in the study was finally completely dispelled by the laughter. He reached out and gently scratched her nose, his movements intimate and natural: "Okay, as you say.
This prince wants to see whether Second Brother’s face will be darker than the bottom of a pot or darker than ink this time.”
The next day, new rumors spread in the capital, and the speed at which these rumors spread was much faster than the previous "witch woman is ruining the country theory."
"Have you heard? There's more than just salt in the warehouse in the eastern suburbs!" A man drinking in the tavern said mysteriously to his companion.
"Oh? Anything else?"
"My third great-uncle's second aunt's neighbor was a night watchman who went to put out the fire that night. He saw with his own eyes that in the flames, in addition to the white salt, there were also many large boxes! And what was exposed in those boxes was... weapons!"
"What?! Weapons?!" There was an uproar in the tavern.
"That's right! Think about it, why did the Second Prince hoard so much contraband salt? And now there's a hidden cache of weapons... What is he planning? Do I even need to tell you?"
"Oh my God...this is a rebellion!"
One stone can cause a thousand ripples.
The combination of the two words "illegible salt" and "weapons" has an explosive effect far exceeding the groundless gossip of "a witch is bringing disaster to the country." The former concerns the people's livelihood, while the latter directly concerns everyone's life and property!
Soon, the rumor evolved into a new version.
Some people said that the second prince had colluded with the barbarians outside the Great Wall, hoarding private salt and weapons, and was preparing to cooperate with the outside forces to overthrow the Liang Dynasty.
Some people also said that the fire in the eastern suburbs was not set by Prince Yan at all, but by the Second Prince's own people. They accidentally set fire to the entire warehouse when transferring weapons, and in order to cover up the evidence, they deliberately set fire to the entire warehouse and turned around to slander Prince Yan and the princess.
What's more, some people linked the Second Prince to his powerful father-in-law, Grand Tutor Li Song, saying that the Li family had long harbored rebellious intentions, and that this salt famine was the first step in their conspiracy to shake the foundation of the country.
Public opinion underwent a shocking reversal overnight.
If the previous rumors were "personal attacks" against Song Qingyuan personally, then the current rumors were "political accusations" directed at the Second Prince and the Grand Tutor's Mansion.
The people suddenly realized that the soaring salt price was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster! We had almost become pawns and cannon fodder in someone else's rebellion!
For a moment, the crowd was in an uproar. The initial criticism of Song Qingyuan instantly turned into an angry denunciation of the Second Prince and the Grand Tutor's Mansion.
The logic of the common people is very simple: whoever prevents them from eating affordable salt and whoever wants them to lose their heads is a bad person!
The Second Prince's Mansion.
Shen Yanhong was shaking with anger as he listened to the latest rumors brought back by his men. He couldn't understand why he, who was clearly the attacker, had suddenly become a traitor and a target of public condemnation.
"Weapons? Where did the weapons come from?!" He kicked over the chair beside him, looking mad. "In my warehouse, there's nothing but salt! This is slander! This is a frame-up!"
He tried to defend himself, but found he had no way to do so. The warehouse had been burned to the ground, leaving no evidence.
Who would believe him if he said there were no weapons inside? The more he tried to explain himself, the more guilty he seemed to the people.
He finally experienced the pain of being unable to defend himself. This feeling was a hundred times more painful than the loss of 300,000 dan of illegal salt.
The public opinion offensive he carefully planned was double-backed by the other side in a more rogue and vicious way.
"Song! Qing! Yuan!" Shen Yanhong gritted his teeth. He knew that the only person who could come up with such a vicious scheme of cutting off the source of the problem and making something out of nothing was that woman!
At this time, deep in the palace, in the imperial study.
The emperor scowled as he read two reports submitted through different channels. One came from the Jingzhao Yin, reporting rumors in the city that the Second Prince had secretly stored weapons and was plotting rebellion.
The other one came from the commander of the secret guards, which recorded in detail how the second prince hoarded private salt, manipulated salt prices, and the "truth" of the Luanshigang fire.
"What a bastard!" The emperor slammed the report down onto the table, his face raging. "How dare you gamble the lifeblood of the country and the safety of the people of this city for factional strife! Does he still have me in his eyes? Does he still have this country in his eyes?"
The emperor's biggest fear was the princes forming cliques and destabilizing the country. The Second Prince's actions had already crossed his bottom line.
"Pass on my decree!" The emperor's voice was as cold as iron. "The Second Prince, Shen Yanhong, has evil intentions and behaves improperly. From today on, he is confined to his residence to reflect on his mistakes. He is not allowed to leave without my permission! Grand Tutor Li Song, for his poor parenting and lax household management, will be fined one year's salary as a warning to others!"
The imperial edict shocked the whole government.
Everyone understood that the Second Prince had completely lost his power.
It was already evening when the news reached Prince Yan's Mansion.
Song Qingyuan was standing under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, looking at the sunset in the sky. Shen Yanzhi walked to her side and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
"My second brother has been confined by our father." He said in a calm tone.
"Yeah." Song Qingyuan responded softly, as if he had expected this result.
"News has also come from Shu," Shen Yanzhi continued, "Lin Feng has contacted local officials. With our financial support, the first batch of well salt has been mined and is being loaded onto ships. It is expected to arrive in the capital by water within twenty days."
"That's really... a double happiness." Song Qingyuan smiled, his eyebrows and eyes curved like crescent moons.
Shen Yanzhi looked at her smile, his heart at peace. They had won the salt war, a decisive victory. But he knew this was only the beginning. The world of the court was far more sinister than this.
He suddenly reached out and held her hand. Her hand was a little cold, so he wrapped it completely with his palm.
"Qingyuan," he looked into her eyes, his gaze more serious than ever before, "thank you."
Song Qingyuan's heart trembled, but she didn't pull her hand away, just looked at him quietly. His eyes reflected the rosy sky and her little self.
"Your Highness, have you forgotten? We are allies." She said softly.
"No." Shen Yanzhi shook his head and held her hand a little tighter, "Now, we are more than just allies."
He didn't say anything else, but Song Qingyuan understood.
From initial trials, to later collaboration, to their current partnership, their relationship has long since transcended a simple alliance. It's a trust rooted in their blood, a resonance deep within their souls.
She looked at him and nodded slowly and firmly.
"That's what I really want, but I don't dare to ask for it." She said this again, but this time, her mood was completely different.
As the evening breeze blew, the leaves of the osmanthus tree rustled, as if playing the prelude to victory for this pair of partners who had just won a battle and were about to join hands to march towards a broader battlefield.
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